


I'll Always Choose You

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: BixFreed [20]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, Loss of Control, M/M, Promises, Protectiveness, Transformation, Tumblr Prompt, Tumblr: FTLGBTales, ftlgbtalespride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 07:31:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19080382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “Leave, walk away from this mess, and no one will stop you.”It was an offer Bickslow could never take, now he just has to convince Freed of that fact.





	I'll Always Choose You

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: 'We will be everything we'd ever need'

 

     Bickslow halted on the dirt path, halfway between the group of villagers who had demanded his presence and the glorified hollow that he and Freed were using as a cave, a sharp gesture making the dolls array themselves protectively behind him. This was supposed to be a peaceful encounter, but considering the weapons, most of the people were sporting in tight grips, he wasn’t about to take them at their word, and with Freed clinging to his humanity at the moment, he couldn’t risk them getting past him. “What do you want?” He demanded, realising that they weren’t going to break the silence, their eyes continually flickering behind them and his hands clenched at his side as he saw the fear.

The anger.   

“You don’t have to die for that monster.” The leader - Michel, who had originally hired them for the job that had brought them here finally broke the silence, stepping forward, flinching as Bickslow turned to look at him, finally getting a clear look at his eyes and tattooed face. His helmet had barely survived Freed’s outburst, and he didn’t want to lose the precious seconds it would take to pull it off if they decided to attack rather than talk. Besides, he wouldn’t hide from these people, letting his anger show clearly as he drew himself up to his full height.

“Monster?” He demanded, steel and ice colouring his voice. This wasn’t the Bickslow that the guild knew, in fact, the only person he had any real inkling that this side of him existed was the man in the cave behind him. The man who was the reason he was stood here, and the reason for the anger that bled into his words as he spat. “You’ve never seen a real monster.” _A monster._  He’d never liked that word, having had it thrown at him countless times when he was younger, his magic unnerving people. However, he loathed it, even more, when it was levelled at Freed, particularly after hearing in it in his partner’s soft voice, wavering in the middle, not minutes before.

 _You’re not a monster,_ he’d said, even as his fingers had brushed against scaled skin and clawed hands had settled on top of his. He knew that he hadn’t convinced Freed, and he could see that he wasn’t convincing these people either, their eyes flicking towards where Freed was hidden. However, while he could tolerate it from Freed, even as it made his heart ache to hear the other man call himself a monster, he wouldn’t take it from them. “He fought to protect your people, your town. He’s like that because you lied about what we were going up against, forcing him to use every weapon at his disposal.”

“You brought a demon here!” Someone shouted from the back, drawing courage from their anonymity, and Bickslow’s magic cracked around him, the dolls echoing his growl in their own high-pitched voices.

“Enough.” Thankfully their leader seemed to have realised that Bickslow’s patience such as it was, had reached breaking point, taking half a step forward, his arms spread. “We’re offering you a chance to get out of this, Bickslow.” The Seith mage’s expression darkened at the familiar term of address, but he didn’t speak or move, having a feeling that he knew where they were going. “Leave, walk away from this mess, and no one will stop you.”

“And Freed?”

“He is a demon; he cannot be allowed to leave alive.” It was said with such certainty, such belief that for a moment Bickslow was floored. How could they believe that? Fairy Tail had faced their fair share of demons, many far worse than anything Freed could ever become, and they knew that there was more to them than just being a demon. That they were people in their own right. There was none of that awareness here. It was black and white. They had seen Freed’s transformation, witnessed his thankfully temporary loss of control, and condemned him for it.

     Bickslow was torn between fury and sorrow, that these people could only see that side of the Rune Mage. That they couldn’t see the man, who would willingly work himself to exhaustion and beyond if it would solve a problem or help his family. They hadn’t seen Freed first thing in the morning when all his barriers were down, and he looked like a sleepy, green-haired agent as he pushed himself up out of the covers; usually, neat hair sticking up in all directions. Or the way his eyes had turned hard, voice cutting like ice as their targets had mocked the villagers, promising to punish them for this attempt to stop their extortion. “He. Fought. For. You.” He ground out, enunciating each word as he stepped forward, his dolls following, eyes glowing with an unholy light. “He is like this because of you, and he wouldn’t change that for a second because he wanted to protect you. Because that is the kind of man, he is.”

“He…”

“If you think that I will let you anywhere near him, then you are stupid than you look,” Bickslow snarled, cutting across the protest. Seeing some of the group tensing, hands clutching their weapons as though they were half a step away from attacking, and his eyes narrowed as he sprang back. “Baryon Formation.” He wasn’t aiming to hurt them, even as angry as he was, because he knew that Freed would blame himself if it got to that point. Instead, he aimed the blast at the ground between them, discouraging them following even as he moved back, retreating towards where he had left Freed. If they persisted, he wouldn’t have a choice, but he would give them a chance. Even if that was more than they were willing to give his mate.

       Michel had thrown out his arms to stop the others, eyes narrowing as he glanced between the furrow that Bickslow’s magic had left in the ground and Bickslow. “There are only two of you, this will not end well, and I am reluctant to hurt someone who helped us. You can have an hour to consider your choices, if you remain after that, you will share his fate.”

     He wasn’t going to go anywhere, no matter how many times they asked, but Bickslow didn’t waste his voice on saying something they both knew. Instead, with a barked order at the dolls to watch the group and make sure they kept their word, he retreated without a backwards look, his mind racing as he tried to work out what they were going to do.

   Freed was waiting for him in the poor excuse for the cave, backed up against the wall, eyes glistening in the half-light, and Bickslow hesitated for a moment, not sure which side of his partner he was facing. Then Freed blinked, looking remarkably human at that moment as fear and a deep-seated weariness replaced the wary tension in his expression. “You should go.” His voice still held the growl of the demon, but the words were one hundred per cent Freed. It also confirmed that he had been listening, and Bickslow closed his eyes. He’d been hoping to spare Freed from that at least. “They’re not going to keep that offer open for long, and I’m not…”

“If you say that you’re not worth it, then I’m going to tell Evergreen that you’ve volunteered to go shopping with her when we get home.” It wasn’t the sharp words that he’d thought in his head, but harsh words weren’t going to help either of them right now, and it was worth it for the way Freed blinked, caught off guard. It allowed him to close the distance between them, crouching down in front of his partner even as he studied Freed. His transformation was still holding firm, which didn’t bode well, as they both knew from experience that the longer, he remained in this form, the harder it was for him to come back. And a small voice in the back of his mind wondered if this was it if they had finally reached the point of no return.

It didn’t matter.

“I don’t think I’m coming back from this,” Freed whispered, catching his gaze and trying to smile, but his lips wavered and crumpled, and he tried to look away. Bickslow was having none of that, reaching for him, fingers gripping his chin in a gentle hold and tilting Freed’s head up. Freed’s eyes had always been too expressive, and now as no different. He was terrified. Not of the people out there calling for his head, but of what he was becoming and what he might be trapped as, and of what Bickslow might do. “Bickslow, this…”

“You and me.” Bickslow cut him off, silencing him as he echoed the words that Freed had said to him all those years ago when the Rune mage had rescued him from the people who had looked at his magic and called him a monster. Freed had been a stranger then, but he had protected him, standing between him and the danger, sword at the ready and offered him a place to call home. A place at his side that had long since become something more and his expression softened as Freed’s eyes glistened. “It was true back then, and it’s true now.”

“But…”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Freed looked torn, hope warring with fear – this time for what could happen to Bickslow if he remained, and Bickslow fought the urge to growl at him, wishing that for once Freed would put himself first. “Freed,” he waited for Freed to meet his gaze, holding it. “It doesn’t matter what they say or do, I’m not leaving your side. And if this,” his fingers moved, releasing Freed’s chin, brushing up and over scaled skin. It was cool to the touch, and he would be lying if he said that he didn’t miss the warmth of Freed’s skin, but it was still Freed. Still, his stubborn Captain. His best friend. His lover. “If this is permanent, then we will handle it. Because it doesn’t change anything, not for me. And hopefully not for you either?” There was a challenge in his words at the end, because he knew that strictly speaking this could change everything, especially for Freed – but he meant what he’d said. It didn’t matter to him if Freed looked like this, as long as he was himself, and as long as he was at his side, that was all that mattered.

“Bickslow…” Freed looked conflicted, duty warring with longing, and then he took a deep shuddering breath as he leant into the hand resting against his cheek. “I don’t deserve you.”

“And yet you have me,” Bickslow teased, earning a weak smile from his partner. It didn’t fix things. It didn’t change the fact that they were going to have to fight their way out of here unless the mob changed their mind. It didn’t alter the fact that they were going to have to find out if Freed was trapped like this, and deal with it if he was. But it was more than they’d had when Freed was determined to try and push him away, and when he’d lost control, and for now that would have to be enough.

“I do,” Freed murmured, and he was the one to close the distance between them. An action that spoke louder than words reassuring Bickslow that he wasn’t going to be pushed away, and he met Freed midway. It was a different kiss. Chaste and tender, Freed’s feelings bubbling through, with an edge of desperation. Yet also reminding him that Freed was different as he felt the brush of fangs against his lips, and claws catching in his clothes. It didn’t matter, and he deepened the kiss, letting Freed pull him close, swallowing the whispered ‘thank you’ that he had never needed or wanted, willing to lose himself in the moment before they had to deal with the threat hanging over them.

 


End file.
